A year after taking control of PILOT funds, the Hamilton County Commission reverses its decision.
The money will now go back to the School District.
Commissioners made that decision this morning.
So what changed?
It caused tension between Hamilton County Commissioners and school leaders.
Now the fight over who controls Payment In Lieu of Taxes money from companies like Volkswagen and Amazon is over.
Rick Smith, Hamilton County School Superintendent, "Things change in a year and I'm pleased that the commission is at a point where they feel like it's time to reverse that decision."
So what's changed?
Not enough if you ask Commissioner Joe Graham.
He championed the move to set aside PILOT money for new schools and maintenance.
Graham wanted more discussion and firm plans on where the money's going.
Commissioner Joe Graham, "The real travesty here is the teachers and the students. This money I hope really gets to them but by putting it in the general fund there's no guarantees that it's going to get to the students and the teachers."
Superintendent Smith says it's too early to say how the money will be spent.
But he points to surprises like a 2.5% state-mandated salary increase to justify the school district's need for the funds.
Smith, "We've not had funding to do what we needed to do for our teachers, so our teachers deserve that raise. It's just a challenge for the budget. It's something we'll have to deal with and we will."
Now instead of focusing on the million plus in PILOT funds, both groups can concentrate on the $370 million needed to educate our kids.
Warren Mackey, Hamilton County Commission, "I think it's going to be a whole lot smoother. I think now we can look them in the eye and ask them what are your needs going to be and have them justify what those requests are going to amount to."
Right now there's around $1.6 million in the PILOT account.
The county commission and the school board will meet on March 1st.
It's a sure bet that the budget will be on the agenda.
